86R20484 SLB-F
By: Larson H.B. No. 722
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the development of brackish groundwater.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.1015 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.1015. RULES FOR PERMITS IN BRACKISH GROUNDWATER
PRODUCTION ZONES. (a) In this section:
(1) "Designated brackish groundwater production zone"
means an aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
designated under Section 16.060(b)(5).
(2) "Development board" means the Texas Water
Development Board.
(3) "Gulf Coast Aquifer" means the system of
hydrogeologic units that run along the Gulf Coast from the Sabine
River to the Rio Grande, including:
(A) the Catahoula confining system, including
the Frio Formation, the Anahuac Formation, and the Catahoula Tuff
or Sandstone;
(B) the Jasper Aquifer, including the Oakville
Sandstone and Fleming Formation;
(C) the Burkeville confining system separating
the Jasper Aquifer from the Evangeline Aquifer;
(D) the Evangeline Aquifer, including the Goliad
Sand; and
(E) the Chicot Aquifer, including the Willis
Sand, the Bentley Formation, the Montgomery Formation, the Beaumont
Clay, and alluvial deposits at the surface.
(b) A district located over any part of a designated
brackish groundwater production zone may adopt rules to govern the
issuance of permits under this section for the completion and
operation of a well for the withdrawal of brackish groundwater from
a designated brackish groundwater production zone and shall adopt
rules described by this subsection if the district receives a
petition from a person with a legally defined interest in
groundwater in the district. The district must adopt the rules not
later than the 180th day after the date the district receives the
petition. Rules adopted under this subsection apply only to a
permit for a project described by Subsection (c).
(c) A person may obtain a permit under rules adopted under
this section for projects including:
(1) a municipal project designed to treat brackish
groundwater to drinking water standards for the purpose of
providing a public source of drinking water; and
(2) an electric generation project to treat brackish
groundwater to water quality standards sufficient for the project
needs.
(d) The rules adopted must:
(1) provide for processing an application for a
brackish groundwater production zone operating permit in the same
manner as an application for an operating permit for a fresh
groundwater well, except as provided by this section;
(2) allow withdrawals and rates of withdrawal of
brackish groundwater from a designated brackish groundwater
production zone not to exceed and consistent with the withdrawal
amounts identified in Section 16.060(e);
(3) provide for a minimum term of 30 years for a permit
issued for a well that produces brackish groundwater from a
designated brackish groundwater production zone;
(4) require implementation of a monitoring system
recommended by the development board to monitor water levels and
water quality in the same or an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an
aquifer, or geologic stratum in which the designated brackish
groundwater production zone is located;
(5) for a project located in a designated brackish
groundwater production zone in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, require
reasonable monitoring by the district of land elevations to
determine if production from the project is causing or is likely to
cause subsidence during the permit term;
(6) require from the holder of a permit issued under
rules adopted under this section annual reports that must include:
(A) the amount of brackish groundwater
withdrawn;
(B) the average monthly water quality of the
brackish groundwater withdrawn and in the monitoring wells; and
(C) aquifer levels in both the designated
brackish groundwater production zone and in any aquifer,
subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum for which the permit
requires monitoring;
(7) provide greater access to brackish groundwater by
simplifying procedure, avoiding delay in permitting, saving
expense for the permit seeker, and providing flexibility to permit
applicants and the district;
(8) be consistent with and not impair property rights
described by Sections 36.002(a) and (b); and
(9) specify all additional information that must be
included in an application.
(e) Additional information required under Subsection (d)(9)
must be reasonably related to an issue the district is authorized to
consider.
(f) An application for a brackish groundwater production
zone operating permit must include:
(1) the proposed well field design compared to the
designated brackish groundwater production zone;
(2) the requested maximum groundwater withdrawal rate
for the proposed project;
(3) the number and location of monitoring wells needed
to determine the effects of the proposed project on water levels and
water quality in the same or an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an
aquifer, or geologic stratum in which the designated brackish
groundwater production zone is located; and
(4) a report that includes:
(A) a simulation of the projected effects of the
proposed production on water levels and water quality in the same or
an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
in which the designated brackish groundwater production zone is
located;
(B) a description of the model used for the
simulation described by Paragraph (A); and
(C) sufficient information for a technical
reviewer to understand the parameters and assumptions used in the
model described by Paragraph (B).
(g) The district shall submit the application to the
development board and the development board shall conduct a
technical review of the application. The development board shall
submit a report of the review of the application that includes:
(1) findings regarding the compatibility of the
proposed well field design with the designated brackish groundwater
production zone; and
(2) recommendations for the monitoring system
described by Subsection (d)(4).
(h) The district may not schedule a hearing on the
application until the district receives the report from the
development board described by Subsection (g).
(i) The district shall provide the reports required under
Subsection (d)(6) to the development board. Not later than the
120th day after the date the development board receives a request
from the district, the development board shall investigate and
issue a report on whether brackish groundwater production under the
project that is the subject of the report from the designated
brackish groundwater production zone is projected to cause:
(1) significant aquifer level declines in the same or
an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
that were not anticipated by the development board in the
designation of the zone;
(2) negative effects on quality of water in an
aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum; or
(3) for a project located in a designated brackish
groundwater production zone in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, subsidence
during the permit term.
(j) After receiving from the development board a report
issued under Subsection (i) and after notice and hearing subject to
Subchapter M, the district may:
(1) amend the applicable permit to establish a
production limit necessary to mitigate any negative effects
identified by the report;
(2) approve a mitigation plan that alleviates any
negative effects identified by the report; or
(3) both amend the permit to establish a production
limit and approve a mitigation plan.
(k) Rules adopted under this section must provide that the
production authorized from a designated brackish groundwater
production zone is in addition to the amount of managed available
groundwater provided under Section 36.108. To the extent possible,
a district shall issue permits up to the point that the total volume
of exempt and permitted groundwater production in a designated
brackish groundwater production zone equals the amount of brackish
groundwater that may be produced annually to achieve the
groundwater availability described by the development board in its
designation of the brackish groundwater production zone under
Section 16.060(e).
(l) A district may not adopt rules limiting access to the
production of groundwater within a designated brackish groundwater
production zone to only those projects described by Subsection (c).
(m) The district may grant or deny an application to extend
a term under this section only using rules that were in effect at
the time the application was submitted.
(n) An application for a permit under this section is
governed solely by district rules consistent with this section.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.